When it comes to deceiving the public, it is obvious that neither political party has a monopoly: both are equally duplicitous.
For example, Democrats shamelessly lied and covered up for President Bill Clinton when reports of unethical behavior surfaced. They even attempted to sabotage and disrupt investigations into Clinton's unlawful conduct. With the help of a complicit attorney general and a cowardly Republican Senate, Democrats put Clinton above the law, above the U.S. Constitution, and even above the laws of decency. Of course, to date there has been no lawful satisfaction for the criminal activities of the Clinton presidency.
However, now that Republicans are in charge of the entire federal government, they are in essence doing the very things that were done by their Democratic counterparts. Cover-up and deception have become the norm for Republicans.
Consider America's attack against Iraq. President Bush's entire case against Iraq was its purported stockpiles of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD). We were repeatedly told that the United States must attack Iraq before it attacked us. Therefore, on Bush's word, America launched its first-ever preemptive and unprovoked attack against a sovereign nation.
Now, everyone knows Bush either exaggerated the facts or lied about them altogether. There have been no WMD's found, and searchers are doubtful they even exist.
At the same time, President Bush blasted Israel's Prime Minister Ariel Sharon for attacking high ranking Palestinian leaders who have masterminded terrorist attacks against Israel. Talk about hypocrisy! How can Bush condemn Israel for protecting itself against enemies next door when he sends the American army half way around the world to kill Saddam Hussein and drive his government from power, even though Iraq posed virtually no threat to the U.S.?
Beyond that, the Republican Party is currently working feverishly to squash any investigation into the intelligence work that caused Bush to launch his unilateral attack against Iraq. Does anyone not understand that no investigation amounts to a cover-up?
If the evidence is as legitimate as President Bush has consistently maintained, it would seem that he and his fellow Republicans would relish the opportunity for an investigation to substantiate their claims. As it is, the credibility and honesty of this White House and Congress is seriously suspect.
The American people have no choice when they are forced to choose between Republican liars and deceivers and Democratic liars and deceivers. It is for this very reason that the American people must hold their elected officials to the restraints of the U.S. Constitution.
If Congress had been faithful to their oath of office, they would never have allowed the President to unilaterally wage war. Only Congress can legally wage war. By Congress refusing to do its duty to investigate the facts and to declare war on the basis of those facts, the war against Iraq became George W. Bush's war, not America's war.
And now, the same cowardly Congress that refused to do its duty under the Constitution, is deliberately covering up any investigation into the facts of the matter. Perhaps they know that the facts did not then and do not now justify what Bush did. Not only is this not good government, it is dishonest government!
Maybe one day the American people will grow out of their robotic loyalty to the two major parties and begin to demand that whoever is in office abides by the laws that govern his or her conduct, namely, the Constitution of the United States. Only faithful adherence to the Constitution can keep government honest.
As it is now, neither political party nor the American people seem remotely interested in promoting honest government. It seems they would rather be led by clever liars than governed by the Constitution. As a result, we are only a step away from constitutional government being replaced with the rule of brute force.
© Chuck Baldwin
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